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Rob Likens on Joe Rose this morning

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The person who will benefit the most from a strong receiving corps, even more so that King, is Mallory. If he has 1-on-1 coverage all game every game he will have a great season and move up the draft boards. Mallory may even be the leading receiver in terms of catches.
 
Hoyacane1620 said:
I think we're going to see a lot of Arroyo....
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I think it’s totally reasonable to expect him as the #2 TE. Brevin stepped on campus and was the guy from day 1. From what we’re hearing from D$ and other people it sounds like he’s along a similar path to Jordan. The icing on the cake is he’s 6’5. Play the freshmen, ‘21 class is special.
 
Hoyacane1620 said:
Highlights:

-Likens says his message to the receivers room is don’t worry about the depth chart, just focus on each rep you get and make it your best rep.

-“It’s see who can stand up and do the details of their assignment at an extremely high level,” “We have another good week-and-a-half until we really talk about depth charts. You put several different combinations of guys when you can with your quarterbacks, see who can perform under pressure. … You mix it up, find out who the better guys are.”

-Likens says he will keep mixing and matching, rolling his receivers around between different QBs, different combinations on the field. He says it’s hard to sometimes gauge how a receiver is performing if he’s against a third team cornerback instead of a first team cornerback. Hence his receiver rotation in practices.

-On Rambo: He has the capability of making big plays. He has the prototypical size of an outside receiver, tall, has length, has straight line speed but also elite quickness. So the possibility of big plays and getting behind people. He’s going to get respect as far as when you look at him. … He makes the defense feel like they need to help (which affects what the overall defense facing Miami can do).” He has the ability to beat on 1v1s, he just has to go out and do it.

-On Pope and Wiggins: “You have to teach them how to handle adversity. You have to get them to think about that in the right way - people are going to fail, you’re going to fail in life, but you can’t allow the outside opinions of people to affect you. You have to stay off social media and can’t listen to other people’s opinions. … You can’t get caught up in that as a person, have to believe in yourself. They have to know I believe in them, we believe in them. and they have to go out and do it.” "You have to be mentally tough and not let it snowball"

-On Keyshawn Smith: “I have seen him (flash) in spurts, he’s not all the way yet,” "I've seen him make some plays, he's very good at that" "His thing is he’s learning the different types of coverages that can come at you and fool you. As a young wide receiver you can get rolled up on really fast. Trying to work on him with his mindset, that pre-snap you have to be thinking about those things." “But as far as talent, being athletic, making big plays and his speed, yes he definitely has that.”


On Harley: “He came back obviously to have a big year and to help us win. " "Every day the number 1 thing is Mike tries to get better, but he’s also looking around nonstop trying to help the young guys. Mike is like that kid you have, one of your sons that does everything right and perfect, you tend to forget about him sometimes. He’s kind of like my assistant coach out on the field helping me out. He’s expecting big things, I’m expecting big things.”

Likens says that all the guys that decided to come back are focused on the team; on getting better, bringing the young guys along and being the best they can be. They aren't looking forward to the next step in their careers, they are focused on what is happening now.


What does he tell the young guys - Brashard Smith, Brinson, George - when there are so many capable bodies on the depth chart ahead of him? He tells them not to focus on depth charts, just control what you can control. When you get your rep, make it the best rep you can. Focus on the details and go every play 100%. He said it's tough but he enjoys this aspect of coaching, reaching into a kid's mind and getting them to understand.

Likens says he is looking forward to the challenge of playing Bama in the first game. He says he talks to the guys all the time about holding themselves and their teammates accountable. He sees this game as a measuring stick of where they are.
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Terrible indictment of Pope and Wiggins development this far into the program.
 
rsa coral gables said:
he didn't, but in Manny Navarro's pre-season review he said that Restrepo is dropping too many balls.
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Wow, I've been holding back from saying this. Restrepo is dropping passes in practice and some reporters with an understanding that he has been labeled as a hard worker and reliable, are choosing to call them "bobbles" instead of drops. TAC's pick 6 came on one of Restrepo's bobbled drops, but no one is branding him. We've seen him bobble and muff punts last season but no negative label. It was written that Rambo "dropped" two passes in the first practice and the mob started stirring a bit about him. But when the footage was released one of the passes was out in front of him and the other was way behind him (two errant passes). He got hands on both balls (pause) but where is the context when info is desiminated about certain players. Weird
 
HarrietTubmanCane said:
Wow, I've been holding back from saying this. Restrepo is dropping passes in practice and some reporters with an understanding that he has been labeled as a hard worker and reliable, are choosing to call them "bobbles" instead of drops. TAC's pick 6 came on one of Restrepo's bobbled drops, but no one is branding him. We've seen him bobble and muff punts last season but no negative label. It was written that Rambo "dropped" two passes in the first practice and the mob started stirring a bit about him. But when the footage was released one of the passes was out in front of him and the other was way behind him (two errant passes). He got hands on both balls (pause) but where is the context when info is desiminated about certain players. Weird
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All this could be true but restrepo caught the ball in the spring game so visual evidence earned him some benefit of the doubt. We'll see what he does when the bullets start to fly, he has stiff competition in the slot so if he struggles we at least have seemingly capable bodies.
 
IIRC Pope has a big spring game too. I hope he gets it together.
 
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DTP said:
Likens wants a 6 man rotation.

Rambo, Harley and Smith will likely start.

Restrepo is making a big move for playing time

Mike Redding has been showing them glimpses of that big body possession guy they desperately need.

The sixth guy is probably going to be Pope. I think they're going to try to use him in the slot a bit where he can't get mugged by physical corners.

The freshmen might get a little burn but I don't think Brinson and George are quite there physically yet and there's a logjam at the slot position ahead of Brashard Smith. Although all those guys can play and will push for rotational snaps.
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Brashard isn’t stuck in the slot for what it’s worth. He’s taller than Harley and restrepo and built well enough to play outside. I always compare him to parris Campbell because I got the chance to see smith in person when everyone thought he was 5’8 and I said back then he was closer to 6 foot than y’all think. He’s still growing. Harley is listed at 5’11 but he’s probably 5’9. Brashard is the flip of that. Hes probably a true 5’11 if not 6 foot in cleats
 
I believe Restrepo can catch really well, he has great hands. I was just pointing out how his drops have been reported compared to other players. Everyone drops passes, especially in practice, but Pope and Wiggins have had huge drops in big games, so most of their criticism is warranted, just not the personal stuff.

As fans, at some point we have to make a decision that if the coaches are gonna still play them then maybe we need to build them up (holding them accountable is healthy) rather than tear them down going into this season and the Bama game. The personal stuff seems counterintuitive.
 
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My take - Rambo & Pope are locked in as 1-2, and the 3rd WR will be a revolving door this year.

I hope someone steps up, with Smith being the most likely candidate - but I'd expect a lot of experimentation trying to find that #3 all year.
 
bshaw28 said:
My take - Rambo & Pope are locked in as 1-2, and the 3rd WR will be a revolving door this year.

I hope someone steps up, with Smith being the most likely candidate - but I'd expect a lot of experimentation trying to find that #3 all year.
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everything i've read from reporters and others watching practice indicates that it is Smith Rambo and Harley.
 
bshaw28 said:
My take - Rambo & Pope are locked in as 1-2, and the 3rd WR will be a revolving door this year.

I hope someone steps up, with Smith being the most likely candidate - but I'd expect a lot of experimentation trying to find that #3 all year.
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Don't think I've seen anything that would make me think Pope is even in the Top 3 WRs. He's not a starter.
 
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